Hue

i.

When I open my eyes, it’s all black and white

No color, not one, no hues

Tell me, why is that?

For not even you

Can be told apart from this monochrome view

Perhaps, it’s because

No matter what you do,

And how much you tell me

There’s a world out there

For me to see,

I just can’t see past halftones

Grays and whites,

Slate and shadows.

ii.

You’re here, you’re there

I open my eyes, you’re everywhere

“Why can’t you leave me alone?” I ask you

Your smile – a bright, wide line

And for a moment I see more than just white

Past your silhouette, a sky of color

Of gold, of honey, of rose

“Because I love you.” You say

And that day, that day

Those words you said that day

Along with the rose, the honey

And the goldness of the sky

They’re now all printed in my mind’s eye.

iii.

Amidst straight, dull lines

And gray shadows and highlights

You’re the only one I see,

Every day, you’ll follow me

I open my eyes, you’re beside me

Right behind you, from gray to sepia

But around me and you,

It hasn’t changed

You take my hand, a pulse of red

Climbs up my arm, warms my head

“When will you answer me?” You ask me

And this new feeling inside

It scares me, it feels nice, but it’s scary

Did you do this to me?

iv.

When I open my eyes, it’s all foreign to me

Why is my room not plain white, but lime?

Why is my house not of straight lines,

And shadows and slate and ink,

But of beautiful childish doodles

Of butter, of salmon, of pink?

Why, when my mother came home

With father not home,

Did I not cry?

Why did I hug her and tell her:

“Mom, I love you

I’m sorry, I’m sorry

I thought that this world, this house

You and me,

Were all black and white

Straight lines and dull grays.

I wasn’t able to see

What you and he wanted me to see

Because I only believed in my misery.”?

v.

She hugged me and thanked me.

She cried and held me.

“Thank you, my child.

And thank him, too.

Perhaps, it’s because

No matter what you do

And how much you tell me

There’s no world out there

For you to see,

He made you see past halftones,

Past shadows and monochrome,

And see gold, and rose

Not grays, not shadows.”

vi.

You introduced me to a brighter world

Until now, it’s still foreign to me.

I open my eyes to the world dyed in color.

As I watch, you walk into view,

Your footsteps dyed a pastel hue

And I think: At last,

It's love at last.

I run to tell him what feelings he gave

How they burst, how they swell

"I now know you're the one."

- Oh, how I want to tell.

I make my way across the world of brightness

Of gold, of pastel, of rose

Your eyes, to my delight, I can now tell

Its hue, its shade, a beautiful hazel

As those hazel eyes, they meet mine

Brought color to sepia, curves to lines

“Hey, hey, it's love at last."

The words form as –

– you walk past.

vii.

Perhaps, it’s because

After all you did,

No matter what you did,

It’s only now I see

The world you wanted me to see?

Or is it because I didn’t see

Past your actions,

And focused only on me?

After all, the world isn’t just black and white

And straight, dull lines.

More than the monochromes

And halftones and shades.

You made me change,

Because I can change

But I failed to see

That you, too, can change.

░░░░ ᴀʀᴛ ᴄʀᴇᴅɪᴛs ░░░░

ˢᶜʳᵉᵉⁿˢʰᵒᵗˢ ᵃʳᵉ ᶠʳᵒᵐ ᵗʰᵉˢᵉ ᵖᵃᶦⁿᵗᶦⁿᵍˢ: The Umbrella II by Afshana Sharmeen

Colorful Memories by Afshana Sharmeen